Escape and Evade
by GCPunkerChick87
Summary: Set after AJBAC, Max escapes from Manticore with Zack (yes, a m/z fic), my first fic so review! (Ch. 7 up!)
1. Zack is Back

**Escape and Evade**

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other annoying people who think they can kill Zack off.   
Summary: What I hope will happen during season 2. Max will escape sometime in later chapters (that is, if all of you don't think it's horrible) with help from Zack who (obviously) isn't dead. It'll eventually become a m/z story, so if you don't like it screw you, don't read it, and I mean that in the nicest possible way; really I do.   
Spoilers: just to be safe, every episode to date (AJBAC), I'll probably bring up a lot of past episodes.  
Rating: R (language and eventually some m/z encounters *wink, wink* but if you watch the show it's not _that_ big of a deal)  
A/N: My first fic, so tell me what you think. M/L shippers you aren't going to like this, especially if you hate Zack. I'm not _against_ Max and Logan being together, I just think she should be with Zack Bring on the flames, I can take it *starts to cry*, but at least throw in some constructive criticism instead of just telling me I can't write. Ok, I guess if I get enough positive feedback, I'll write more, it's not like I have anything to do all summer except water polo practice *whistles at guys walking by in Speedos*...n e wayz... Oh yeah, don't laugh too hard at my title; I never was good at coming up with good ones. The title will fit in later on when Max actually escapes (has an epiphany; it _all_ makes sense now..). Now I'll shut up and let you read.

All I do is lie here, hearing and feeling Zack's heart beat in my chest. Hell, it's all I _can_ do. I'm strapped down tightly to a hospital bed with flimsy restraints. Sure, I could break them, but I'd just tear the wound from the heart transplant. That's the only thing holding me here. It's frustrating, if it wasn't for the operation, I could take out the guards and escape to freedom. What is freedom, anyway? I don't think I've ever experienced _real_ freedom. Sure, I've been out of Manticore, that's something, but I'm always looking over my shoulder. So here I am, left alone with my thoughts. 

All I can think about is Zack, and how much I loved him, and still do. I realize that now; and I just hope he knew that before he made his sacrifice; my sacrifice. Sometimes knowing I have his heart helps me cope with my depression, knowing he's a part of me to keep me strong and keep me fighting. It comforts me, telling me he'll never leave me, and he'll always be a part of me. He's the only thing that forces me to open my eyes and face the cruel reality that is my life, instead of just giving in, forgetting it all, and joining Brin. Other times it just reminds me of all the mistakes I've made.

Logan was a mistake. Sometimes I wish I'd never met the guy. I thought I loved him, but all he did was hold me back. I knew the minute he started looking down at me after he saw the pictures of me back at Manticore that he wouldn't...no, _couldn't_ accept who I was, and who I am. He kept me in Seattle because I thought we had something. Truthfully, and now I can admit it to myself, I felt empty when I was with him. When I was with Zack, it was different. My situation with Zack was a mistake too. It could've been so much more, but I screwed it up, he practically told me he was in love with me in the cave when he said that he could never forget a thing about me...that I was different that the others. 

Why did I have to be so fucking stubborn? If I had just listened to him, taken his orders, and gone with him without giving him such a hard time maybe it would've made it easier to tell him how I felt. If I'd told him, he'd give me love, unconditional love, like we'd shared during our childhood together. We'd sought out comfort in each other, and the others like us. We didn't know what it was at the time...love was a weakness as far as we were concerned. No one else that wasn't of Manticore could ever love me like Zack did, and I could never love anyone else like I loved him. Of course, there would be pain when he left, when he couldn't communicate with me the way I wanted him to, and when he'd become the hard, emotionless soldier that ordered me around like he was still my CO.

His heart beating, I can't tune it out. Now, it just makes tears stream from my face. The sight probably delights Renfro; tough ex-Manticore soldier, vulnerable, falling apart and breaking down. She'll take advantage of it; use it to harden me, to force me to become void of all emotion. She's a mastermind; clever, malevolent and manipulating. It makes me wonder how I ever thought Liedecker was so tough. 

He knew exactly how to get to us, but he was more intent on making us good soldiers. He at least cared about keeping us alive instead of just picking us off one by one. In some twisted way he probably thought of us as his children. Not Renfro, we're just lab rats to her; personal servants at best. That's what Brin is now, I dread the day when I'm by her side during target practice, or take orders from her during a drill. 

Maybe things would've turned out differently if I'd just left Seattle when I got the chance. Not that I'll ever be able to find out now. There are so many what-ifs. What if I'd gone with Zack over the Canadian border, what if I'd realized how I felt sooner, what if I never met Logan, what if I could've saved Tinga...and what if, somehow, Zack is still alive? I wouldn't doubt that Renfro could've faked it, and is lying to me about what really happened. I'm not so naive and ignorant to put something like that past her. So many things to contemplate, so many maybes, what-ifs, and things I should've or could've done.

Here I am, waiting for the next time she comes to _grace_ me with her presence. Maybe she'll turn down that damn heart monitor; it's tearing me up, but she probably knows that. I could kill her. That's what she wants me to be, right? A heartless, emotionless killer. The reprogramming, it'll come soon, I feel the scar healing. I won't give in; can't give in. They'll find a weak spot, and keep pushing until I break. I won't let them win; can't let them win. For Tinga, Brin, Ben, Syl, Krit, Jace, Max, Case, Charlie, Zane, Eva, Jondy, Jack, all my brothers and sisters...everyone; most importantly, Zack. I'll fight them for him, he would never let me back down. He's the only thing that'll keep me fighting this bitch. 

"Knock, knock." Renfro says, smiling smugly. "Don't feeling like talking today? Well, I just came to tell you that tomorrow you'll begin reprogramming." She stares off blankly, an evil grin passing across her face, as if envisioning me as a Manticore soldier again. I hide my anger and fear, pondering what she had in store for me. How could all these people that were so weak be teaching us to be perfect soldiers?

"I'm not a kid anymore, and if you really think you can brainwash me like you did Brin, you got another thing coming." I spat, glaring at her menacingly. She just looks me in the eye and stares me down, smile never fading. 

"You'd be surprised...we almost got to Zack when he turned himself in for you. It's such a shame that Zack can't join you in your reprogramming. One of Manticore's finest dead..." She sighs, and tells me that Brin will assist me during my training. Oh the excitement! It just gets better and better. I curse at her as she closes the door behind her after injecting something into my arm. 

Everything slowly fades to black, and I get lightheaded. Next thing I know, sun is shining through the small window behind the bed I'm no longer strapped to. I see a fuzzy image of who I assume to be Brin. She smiles at me, and hands me something. My vision now clear, I see that it's food. The last thing I want to do is eat, looking at Brin actually _enjoying_ being a Manticore soldier? I blanch at the thought of becoming like her. 

"Why Brin," I ask softly, "why couldn't you fight them? Why don't you want to be _free_?"

"This is where I belong; where all of us belong. Why be on the outside, trying to fit it, trying to be normal? As much as you may try to get away from Manticore, it's always there. Why fight it?" She replied monotonously, as if she'd rehearsed exactly what to say; which she probably did. Renfro probably had her memorize answers to my questions. _She can't even think for herself anymore, _I think somberly. I pity her, and fear I'll become what she is.

"There's so much out there for you Brin..._that's_ why you fight it. You could settle down somewhere, out of this hell hole, and make friends, start a family, never have to worry about having to kill anyone or hiding emotion. Don't you want that? If you could only see the others...if you could only see Tinga, before Renfro killed her off. It has nothing to do with fitting in, Tinga told her husband who she was, and he still loved her. And yet, here you are, taking orders from the very woman who killed our sister." I growled angrily. 

I shoved the empty tray at her. She just shook her head and walked out, telling me she'd be back. It occurred to me that Renfro most likely wasn't completely truthful with Brin. Like that's new. Maybe she blamed Tinga's death on Deck; if she'd told Brin the truth, the little humanity she had left would at least stop her from taking orders from Renfro. Or maybe it was too late for that. Why couldn't she just understand, there was nothing at Manticore for her. 

Brin walked into the room and stood stiffly before me. "Until further notice _I_ am your CO, and you will take orders from me. Stand at attention soldier!" She demanded, and I just lie back and studied her carefully. When she said that she was my new CO, I froze. Why did everything have to come back to Zack? I wouldn't listen to her, I promised him...

I felt my face contort in anger as I snarled, "I am _not _a soldier, I am Max Guevara. You _won't_ take my humanity from me!"

"I _said_ stand at attention soldier!" She ordered fiercely. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You are not my CO, I am not a soldier, and I refuse to take orders from you, or anyone else for that matter! Zack was our CO, but he can't lead us either can he? We have Renfro to thank for that one, but that's right, you're nothing but her lapdog are you?" I taunted furiously. She wouldn't win this one. 

I saw her draw out a gun that I recognized as the same type we used to use at Manticore during target practice. As she pointed the barrel at me, I thought of Eva, and I thought of Zack, taking his life to give me back mine. I watched her take the safety off as she threatened, "Don't think I won't do it. I have orders not to kill you, but that doesn't mean I won't shoot you. Now, *stand-at-attention*! You are _not_ Max; you are X5-452!" 

Fine, I'd stand at attention, I'd take her orders, but she'd never turn me. It was better than getting drugged and beaten until I gave in and listened to her anyway. Tinga and Zack fought, and fought hard when they were taken back. Tinga fought until the day she died, and I planned on making both she and Zack proud. I followed her obediently down the vast corridors. We passed the barracks we used when we were soldiers; X5s. I guess, in a way, I would always be a soldier, as much as I hated to admit it. 

I stopped and looked through the small window on the top of the door. Children a bit older than we were at our days at Manticore stood at attention in front of some man who was screaming at them. There heads were shaved like ours were, and they all wore the same gown. It was hard to distinguish the sex of the children. That's the way it was meant to be, we were all the same, and we came from each other. Yeah...right.

Seeing the kids being yelled at brought up a flashback from my days at Manticore. A security guard had found 'the high place' and Liedecker was notified. Deck paced back in forth between the lines of children, hollering at us for breaking the rules. I remember his face inches from mine as he passed us, one by one, trying to find out who's idea it was to sneak out at night to the high place. I was trembling and stood trembling slightly, fighting back seizures, feeling the cold metal footboard of my bed against the back of my legs. He passed me and moved on to Ben. He said, calmly as could be, that he was indeed responsible. Deck had Ben follow him, eyes wide in terror. He'd come back terrified, and told us about being taken to the bad place...

"X5-452! You were not told to stop, now march!" Brin declared, and I followed her, shaking my head as if the memories would just disappear. If I believed in luck, I would say that I was lucky to now have to have my hair kept in a crew cut like we did as children. I supposed Liedecker had that done to shun contrast and uniqueness of any kind. We were all one, one team, and worked together. As we entered the room that we had sparred in as children, flashbacks overcome we once again.

I remembered all of us standing in front of a mirrored wall, one of Liedecker's men in front of us. We were to follow what he did, punching the air in front of us, yelling out. We spent hours in here, just sparring each other, brutally brawling until Liedecker ordered us to cease. I'd come back to the barracks tired and sore every time. Seeing our bruised and beat-up bodies every morning never seemed to bother Deck, or any of his men. They didn't hold back on training just because we were in pain. Soldiers knew no pain in their minds, we were perfect.

The room was just as I remembered it. Blue mats covered the floor, mirrors on the walls. Renfro was probably watching from behind one of them. I snapped back to attention as Brin stood in front of me in a fighting stance. I raised my fists, and we circled each other. She took the first punch, and I blocked it. She threw me to the ground, and I flipped her over, punching her hard on the side of her face. Brin pushed me off her, and I flew into the wall on the opposite side of the room. I charged at her, getting in a few kicks to her head, and she grabbed my leg and twisted, causing me to fall against the mats hard.

After a while, I found myself pinned on the ground. She was much faster and stronger then I had remembered. I'd gotten better since our confrontation on the rooftop of Tinga, Charlie, and Case's apartment, but she could still overpower me easily. Well, I figured that I might as well make the most of staying at Manticore, and brush up on some new fighting moves. Who knows, maybe I'd have another confrontation with the REDS when I finally had the chance to escape.

I worked with Brin and watched the X7s as they came in to work on their sparring techniques. I trained with Brin for hours, lifting weights, sparring, and physical reprogramming. As we headed in the barracks that we stayed in, I saw an open door up ahead. I recognized it as the same door I had run through to get back to the van after I'd stopped Brin from deactivating the explosives Zack and I had set. That night seemed like yesterday...but it had been over a week. It took time for my wound to heal, and Renfro couldn't risk having stitches ripped, and having to continually fixing them.

I looked into open doors as we walked past, wondering where the others that hadn't escaped with us were now. Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks. A door only a few yards away from the barracks I'd be staying in was halfway open. Looking in, I saw Renfro talking to a young man with long blond hair. She kept asking him questions, and he'd ignore her, or growl back a response. He kept grilling her about what she did with me. It was Zack! Renfro saw me, and ordered a guard to close the door immediately. 

It was too late though, I'd seen him. I turned, smiling, to Brin and looked at her shocked expression. She prodded my back with her gun, and I continued walking to the barracks. Now I _knew_ I'd escape, and if Zack was alive, everything would be all right...

  
  


A/N: Ok, this is the part where you review and tell me how much you hated it. I won't type more unless people actually like the story, so please review. I wrote this in like an hour, so put up with my spelling/grammar mistakes, and I'll fix them l8er. If you liked it (yeah I know, I'm laughing too) then I'll start typing. I can get up the next chapter tomorrow or day after next if people review soon. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Don't Look Back

******Escape and Evade******

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other annoying people who think they can kill Zack off.   
Summary: What I hope will happen during season 2. Max will escape sometime in later chapters (that is, if all of you don't think it's horrible) with help from Zack who (obviously) isn't dead. It'll eventually become a m/z story, so if you don't like it screw you, don't read it, and I mean that in the nicest possible way; really I do.   
Spoilers: just to be safe, every episode to date (AJBAC), I'll probably bring up a lot of past episodes.  
Rating: PG-13 (language and eventually some m/z encounters *wink, wink* but if you watch the show it's not __that big of a deal)

A/N: Thanks 4 the reviews, u guys are awesome *takes a bow*.

  


I spent the night in the barracks listening to Brin preach about how Manticore would change me for the better and how great it was. As I faked an exaggerated yawn in her face she shut up and let me get to sleep. She knewI didn't sleep, and wouldn't let myself become vulnerable by letting my guard down and resting. If I let myself fall into a non-drug induced sleep, I'd have nightmares about Zack shooting himself. Not tonight though, tonight I knew he was somewhere within the walls of Manticore with me, and that fact calmed me enough to almost allow me to fall asleep...almost.

How was I supposed to sleep with all I could think about was Zack being alive. I wondered what he was doing at that moment. Being beaten for fighting against orders, sleeping, talking with Renfro again? It was a big shock to see the man I loved, and thought was dead, sitting as alive as I am rebelling against Renfro. I needed to talk to her; to get all the information I could out of her. I mean, I don't even know who's heart I have in me anymore. If I could just find Zack and talk with him, we could organize a plan to bust out of Manticore. The next morning I'd find away to get to Renfro...and get to Zack.

Brin woke me before sunrise, I actually didn't mind since I was just lying there with my eyes closed, acting like I had drifted off. Throughout the night, as I watched Brin stir in her sleep, I'd devised a plan to get to Renfro. It was pretty unorganized, but I was good at improvising. If I was lucky I wouldn't get the shit beat out of me by Brin in the process. Subtlety wasn't my specialty, so I figured I'd just take Brin's gun when she wasn't expecting it, and knock her out. Simple as that, then I'd find Renfro and threaten to kill her unless she takes me to Zack. I could always just __ask to see Renfro; maybe she wouldn't care...

"No, we have training we need to take care of soldier!" Brin barked. So much for __that idea.

"I know he's alive." I stated simply, eyeing Brin as she took me outside of the building to run through a drill. I watched her dark eyes narrow in concentration, thinking of what to say. Renfro had called Brin into her office a few minutes after I'd seen Zack, probably to discuss how to handle my knowledge of Zack's condition. What is she going to do? Just convince me it wasn't him? He's the one person in the world I could never mistake for anyone else.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She retorted shortly, urging me forward into the forest. Time to put my plan into action. There were cameras everywhere, so I had to be careful. I waited until we were far enough into the forest that I'd be out of range of bugs and cameras. She was explaining what I had to do, and as she turned to point out where a target was, I grabbed her neck tightly from behind and slammed her against a tree.

"Where's Renfro?" I breathed, holding her gun away from me. Her face was neutral, although I knew she was scared. I'd spent 9 years of my life with her, and she couldn't even show her emotions to me when we were alone anymore like we used to. She struck me on the side of the face with her free hand, and I felt the sting of her punch. Controlling my rage and breathing deeply, I awaited my answer. She just struggled slightly against my grip, and finally stopped fidgeting.

"You are not authorized to contact her at this time. Now, at ease soldier!" She panted, closing her eyes and swallowing hard. Did she actually think that would _work_ on me? She wasn't going to give me any information, so she was useless. I threw a hard uppercut under her jaw, knocking her out. I watched her limp body fall to the ground with a thud. For a minute I considered killing her...I just couldn't. How could I kill my own sister? Hesitantly grabbing her gun, I walked out of the forest casually. Hopefully I wouldn't look too suspicious. 

Stealthily, I moved throughout the halls, attempting to avoid cameras and random guards sweeping the halls. I heard a man yell, "March!" And the sound of stomping feet. Ducking into an abandoned room, I watched through the partially opened door as the X7s passed. I still really hadn't gotten used to seeing myself, Brin even had me spar with my clone. She was good, and it was going to be hard when the X7s got old enough to accompany Renfro in search for the other X5s. They could take any of us out; maybe not Zack, but they knew tons of stuff we weren't even taught in Manticore. I shuddered as I watched myself at that age walk down the hall, same bar code, same dark, short hair.

I fought the urge to walk out, kill the soldier leading them, and let the kids escape to freedom. Some of the clones resembled X5s that were taken to the 'bad place' after violent seizures. Seeing them made me miss my deceased brothers and sisters even more. They were _people_, how could they just take them away and study them until their death. It was inhumane...so cruel, but that was Manticore.

Jondy's clone was last in the line, and flashbacks brought me back to the times late at night together. Since neither of us slept, I'd hang out and talk with her on her bed while everyone else slept. Times like those kept me from becoming completely closed off and kept me mutinous. I wondered if Zack had found her; I'd give anything to see my sister again. Maybe I'd ask him if we got out of this prison.

As the last group of X7s past, I darted swiftly through the corridors, checking each door as I passed in search of Renfro. Finally, I ran toward the door I'd seen her in yesterday with Zack. Probably was her office; she wasn't anywhere else I'd checked. I kicked open the door, gun at the ready. Two soldiers accompanied her in the room. Like that could __really stop an X5 from getting to her. I snapped one's neck with ease, and knocked the other out with little trouble. 

"Where's Zack?" I demanded, barrel shoved to her temple. Her eyes were wide in fear, hands in the air. Those cold, cruel eyes that had met mine when she threw Zack's alleged death in my face. I hated everything about her from her peroxide-blond hair to her smug grin. That grin wasn't on her face now. Her mouth was open in horror, and I fought the urge to burst out laughing. 

"X5-599 is deceased, you know that. You have his heart." She replied as if it was the most blatantly obvious thing in the world. I enjoyed watching her squirm in her seat, my eyes burning dangerously into hers. The blood had drained from her face, now making her lightly colored face even paler. As much as I'd like to stand over her and order her around like she did me, there wasn't time to just make her sweat. I needed answers before Brin recovered, or was discovered.

"Where-is-he? If you don't answer now, I'll kill you and find him myself."

"He's sparring with X7-599...the CO of the X7s." Renfro answered. Big mistake; now there was no reason to let her live. I pistol whipped her, knocking her out of her chair. A thin line of bright red blood trickled down to her ear. 

"It's over. I hope you burn in hell, you bitch." I growled, shooting her, point blank, execution style. Clean, and that way I knew _she_ couldn't just get a heart transplant. She wasn't coming back; gone for good. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. With her out of the picture, I moved to the surveillance room, and killed the guards observing rooms throughout the building on monitors. I shot out the monitors with an Uzi I'd taken off one of the dead guards, and ran down the hall to the sparring/training room. 

True to Renfro's word, Zack was being supervised by several guards while he attempted to block deadly blows from a blond hair, blue eyed kid. It looked strange; Zack was over two times older than this little kid that could match all of his punches. Zack was thrown to the ground, and as his clone swung his foot forward to meet Zack's face, he grabbed the clone's foot, and pinned him down as soon as he fell against the mat. 

Taking out the three guards from the doorway with no problem, I walked into the room. Zack called out my name, and ran to me, arms embracing me tightly. As I explained what had happened, I thought about the X7s. What would become of them? I'd had a chance to talk with some of them. They were just like us...they wanted to be free, but the security had been vastly improved, and it was nearly impossible to escape. They had no 'high place' like we did, and guards always monitored their barracks to make sure they couldn't just break through the windows and run away. 

They had the same reasons as we had to want to escape. All of them had seen their brothers and sisters being drug off by soldiers, the child trashing and screaming. I had my doubts about the X7s really wanting to escape when I first discussed it with them. They followed soldier's orders obediently each time, and killed with ease. Of course, that's the way we'd acted too. It was only at night, and when we were seldom left alone, when we could be the least bit human...like normal children. There was no point in always debating orders unless you enjoyed getting beaten or taken to the bad place. 

"Zack...what should we do with the X7s?" I asked, cutting our reunion short. I pulled out of his hug, and looked at him. His face was pale, and he was breathing heavily. Dark circles were under his eyes, and scrapes and bruises covered his arms. He probably had fought against everything Renfro and her soldiers had ordered him to do. His brow wrinkled in thought. "They're just like we were....they want to be free Zack. Should we let them go?"

"How many X7s are there X7-599?" Zack asked his clone sharply. 

"There's only 12 of us left." He responded on command.

"Do you want to come with us?" I asked, kneeling down in front of his clone, watching his eyes widen in surprise. 

He nodded fervently, and with several hand gestures, told us that the X7s were in the field completing a mission. He'd have to work on that whole socializing concept. It took me a while to grasp that normal people didn't just gesture at each other to communicate. I had received a lot of strange looks back then. I cleared my head, and concentrated on the mission at hand by listening to Zack. 

"Max, come on...twelve X7s parading around the country...do you really think we should do this?"

"If we could manage, so can they. We can't just leave them here...they're just kids..." I pleaded. He turned to face me, and motioned for us to stop.

"Fine, but we're going to have to split them up, we can't have a big group of them all staying together in the same city." Why was it that Zack could never just say 'ok'? There was always a compromise involved. He was right though, it would be too dangerous to let them stay together. I would've grinned at the thought of 12 kids in identical gowns, wearing crew cuts, and bar codes tatoos on their necks walking through some town if I wasn't in such an urgent situation. 

"Let's do it." I agreed, and we walked out of the building, confused security guards being taken out in passing. We saw the X7s moving deeper into the forest. Zack's clone looked at us, and Zack nodded. The clone ran into the forest at an amazing rate of speed, and gestured to the group that we were allies, and they were to follow us to escape. Zack and I walked in closer, and the children's somber and blank faces stared at us and each other. Slowly, smiles spread around the group, and they let out cheers, as they followed us to the perimeter fence. 

The fourteen of us cleared the tall fence, and Zack told them they'd have to split up, and gave them his contact number. They'd remember it; photographic memories. Once they all relocated, they were to call the number to find out the other's locations, and to keep in touch with Zack. I sighed as I realized Zack would have to constantly move around the country to keep in touch with all of them. 

"You'll give yourself names, find a place to live, and if you decide to meet with another X7, tell me first as a precaution. You don't want to get caught. Even though Manticore is gone, it doesn't mean others won't be interested in studying us. If anyone suspicious starts following you, leave town." Zack ordered, and gestured for them to split up. It was a beautiful sight, watching all those hard soldiers, complete with paint on their faces from their mission, holding handguns, and dressed in camouflage smiling as they took off running in different directions. I felt a tear slide down my cheek, and saw that even Zack's eyes were welling with tears, which promptly disappeared as he became a soldier once again. 

"Are you going to start making your rounds?" I asked softly, not meeting his eyes; bracing myself for the answer. He couldn't leave yet, I hadn't even told him hold much he meant to me...

"It can wait; just don't look back." He replied, looking down at me and grinning. He put his arm around me as we started to make the long journey back to Seattle together...

  


A/N: Don't worry, Max and Zack will __soon admit their feelings toward each other, talk about Max thinking Zack was dead, what happened to Brin, and all that other good stuff in the next chapter (which will be longer than this one). __And she'll face Logan and tell him what happened soon (I _really_ don't _hate_ Logan, I like him _sometimes_). Then we'll laugh at his angst, and cheer for joy as Max gets with Zack. Don't 4get 2 review, I'll get the next chapter up tomorrow...probably. 


	3. Brin

Escape and Evade

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me (Greg Lee/Zack already belongs to his _girlfriend_), except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other people who think they can kill Zack off.  
Summary: What I hope will happen during season 2. Max will escape sometime in later chapters (that is, if all of you don't think it's horrible) with help from Zack who (obviously) isn't dead. It'll eventually become a m/z story, so if you don't like it screw you, don't read it, and I mean that in the nicest possible way; really I do.   
Spoilers: just to be safe, every episode to date (AJBAC), I'll probably bring up a lot of past episodes.  
Rating: PG-13 (this chapter) language and eventually some m/z encounter(s) *wink, wink* but if you watch the show it's not _that_ big of a deal.

A/N: Ok, I got some reviews saying this story was going to fast, and about how their escape was too easy. I know it's really _convenient_ that everything just _happened_ to go their way (hmm, maybe I'll make the X7s turn evil and try to kill Logan...), but I'm a shipper, and I don't wanna write 50 chapters on how she fights off guards, or is recaptured *yawn*. Anyway, my first idea was to have Max see Zack_ way_ later after going through a lot of reprogramming and stuff, but I don't feel like rewriting the story (sorry...well, not really), so here it is, I'll try to make things a little more _realistic _(yeah, a super-enhanced killing-machine is _really_ realistic _too_)...maybe. 

As Zack held me under his arm, we walked away from Manticore. We were taking the same two-lane road I'd followed the night of the escape. I remembered being scared to death as a woman, Hannah, stopped and offered me a ride. Things had changed so much since then, but now, as I walked with Zack, away from Manticore, it seemed like nothing had changed at all. Things hadn't changed, I had. Zack was the same as he was in Manticore, maybe a little more human, but still in command, and always protecting all of us. Maybe that's why we connected so well, he was still the little boy that got the balloon for me, and kept me safe when everything was falling apart. 

Maybe we'd really be free for good, but then again, maybe Manticore would be restored someday, and I'd never be safe. Now that the X7s were freed and no one was in charge, that wasn't likely, unless Deck turned on us again. I wasn't too worried, whatever happened would happen, and I'd worry about it when the time came. As I continued this train of thought, staring absent-mindedly off into the woods. I fought back laughter as I heard the alarm finally sound...a little late, some TAC leader probably found all the knocked out guards and missing X7s. 

Some guards ran out of the building, responding to the alarm. Hell, they didn't even have anyone to _command_ them, so what was the point in trying to recapture us? We picked up pace, not wanting to stay behind killing off guard after guard. Manticore's perimeter fence finally ended, now we were pretty much out of proximity of any real danger. Still cautious, Zack and I walked in silence after he'd answered several of my questions. 

It turned out that another guard had rushed into the room after Renfro was released from Zack's grip. She had alerted the guard that was traipsing through the corridors, making sure everything was sound after the infiltration by the X5s. The guard had shot Zack in the leg, causing it to give out. He collapsed onto me, passing out from blood loss due to his wounded shoulder; and the shot in the leg didn't help his condition much either. 

We didn't dare to hitch-hike, Zack wouldn't allow us to get into danger by unknowingly accepting a ride from some Manticore worker. I groaned to myself after imagining us walking _all_ the way back to Seattle from Wyoming. X5s or not, a girl _could_ get used to not having to walk from state to state through heavily wooded forests. Seattle was a long way from here...

Seattle; it reminded me of Logan. What would I tell him? Just barge in with Zack and announce that I was in love with another man, and sorry, but I'm over him? I hadn't even told _Zack_ about how I felt; but mainly because every time I'd open my mouth to speak, he'd hold his finger to his lips. If he had his way, which he most likely would, we wouldn't even speak until we were completely out of Wyoming. 

He'd removed his arm from around me long ago; now busy darting left and right across the road and deeper into the forest, making sure no one was following us. He'd ventured off ahead on lookout, and I saw him run back toward me, his long blond hair falling in his face, blue-green eyes flashing excitedly. He looked like a hunter searching for his prey. His face was neutral as he climbed high into trees, looking around, and sprinting through trees, ignoring the brush cutting at his already wounded and bruised arms. 

It was like the game we used to play; escape and evade, we'd escaped and now he was averting and danger that might be nearby. Zack lived for moments like these, where he could be the soldier that he was created to be. His instincts kicked in, and he moved fluidly, almost gracefully; almost like an animal. I watched as he jumped from an especially tall tree into a grassy clearing not too far away, narrowly avoiding a small stream.

He looked around carefully, and satisfied that everything was safe, headed back over to me. The collar of his shirt was damp from sweat, and his hair was plastered to his face. Pushing his hand through his hair, he grinned at me, the face of a soldier disappearing as he stopped bounding around the forest searching for danger. He appeared to be calm, but I watched his eyes move back and forth, taking in our surroundings.

Suddenly, as Zack joined me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I shuddered. We were being watched...silently, I gestured to Zack that an enemy was in pursuit. He nodded, he felt it too, and I closed my eyes while we walked, not concentrating on vision, only sound. I was listening for the slightest sound, using my enhanced hearing. Finally, I honed in on something a few meters to my right, behind some brush and a large tree. I continued watching straight ahead, wanting to surprise the pursuer. 

We'd veered off the road a little, far enough into the surrounding forest that we wouldn't be out in the open, so at least we weren't sitting ducks if there really was watching us. Now everything was silent, but I knew someone was there. Waiting, watching, and ready to pounce at any minute. We were being followed, I'd thought I felt it off and on as we moved away from Manticore. Who would follow us shooting at us, and be able to move quickly and silently whenever Zack would search the woods nearby? Only an X prototype could possibly have those skills.

"Show yourself!" I commanded, turning to my right. Like I said, I was never the subtle type. Before I had a chance to draw my gun, a figure dressed in all black emerged from behind a tree, gun drawn. "Brin..." I started. Zack spun around to face her, his eyes were cold as they met hers. She'd been turned, and Zack was disheartened by her inability to stay strong through her reprogramming. I knew he probably felt he'd failed when we couldn't escape with her. He'd never admit it, but as he watched Brin, I could tell. His eyes had softened for a moment, and then turned gray and dull as he watched her place her finger in front of the trigger.

"Renfro's dead; you're free Brin. So put down the gun and come with us." Zack ordered, figuring Brin would respond better if he took the position of authority. She was Manticore, and if Zack became our CO again, she might obey his commands.

"Never." She spat bitterly. And then again...maybe not. The reprogramming she'd been through had done a number on her. Not that it surprised me, Deck was still at Manticore then, and he knew exactly how to break us. He knows everything there is to know about 'his kids'. He was the man who put us through hell and back to become his idea of perfect. Now he'd sunk so low that he actually teamed up with us to take down his greatest accomplishment. How ironic. 

Among other things, the fact that we (the free X5s) were traitors had been pounded into her head, and she now thought us to be the enemy. They'd done the same thing to Zack when he turned himself in for me. I couldn't believe Deck could be so sly, he'd actually _known_ Zack escaped. At least Brin hadn't known much, if any information on the locations of the other X5s, otherwise they'd be caged up in Manticore too.

If she only knew the truth about Renfro. I could try to get through to her, maybe she'd remember those nights where we'd gather around her as seizures shook her violently, comforting her until she fell asleep again. Maybe she'd remember how much we all trusted each other. Now she was suspicious and skeptical about every word Zack or me said.

She aimed the gun up toward my head. All she had to do was fire, I called to her, "Why are you doing this Brin? We aren't the traitors, Renfro is..._was_. She's gone, you're not a soldier anymore, you're a person! I know Renfro probably ordered you to kill me if I escaped, but she _killed our sister_, so how could you carry out her orders? What would you gain by shooting either of us?"

I could see her bite her bottom lip, and her face contort into a frown. She was thinking it out. "She really killed Tinga?" She asked, lowering her gun slightly. At least it was pointed toward my head. She was still reluctant, but at least she was listening. I might actually have a chance of getting through to her.

"Yes," I replied, voice full of hatred and rage toward the woman, "she had a son...he's much smarter than a normal child; better memory, and more intelligent than usual. Deck found out, and wanted to take Tinga in to study her. Somehow Renfro got involved in the capture, and ended up getting Tinga, and hiding it from Deck. I saw her Brin...she was in some tube while they tested her, they'd killed her, she killed Tinga..." I choked, and watched Brin look to the ground.

"I was told that operational secrecy was to be in effect, especially in regard to Liedecker. If I'd told him...maybe she'd still be alive. You have her heart you know..." Brin revealed. She was actually beginning to sound human...wait...did she just say I had her heart? I looked at her suspiciously, and then frowned as I thought of Manticore doctors harvesting her cold, frail body, removing her heart and other vital organs to be sold or used for other injured X soldiers.

I was stunned, my eyes wide in shock, I just stood staring at Brin. My had subconsciously found its way to the scar from the procedure. Tinga's heart? I would have to tell Charlie too, and I'd promised Case I'd bring him back his mom. Zack interrupted the silence. His face was serious, and was watching every move she made with apprehension. He doubted her loyalty to us, but realized since the woman who commanded her was dead, she had no other choice but to leave Manticore.

"Are you coming?"

"I-You....." She trailed off, and a look of sadness and anger crossed her face as she threw an earpiece from her ear to the ground, smashing it beneath her boot. "You're right Max, this is us out here, not Manticore. Where are we headed?" She questioned. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but was immediately erased as she marched ahead of us. 

"Seattle, where would you like to relocate to?" Zack asked, stopping to take in the information. 

"Iowa...I had a life back there I'd like to get back...I'm heading in the wrong direction."

"So this is goodbye?" Max asked slowly. She'd just gotten her sister back, and now they were heading their separate ways. Zack rattled off the contact number, not caring about there sister coming back to their side. Actually, he probably _did_ care, he just wouldn't let on that he did. 

"Let's just say I gotta blaze...but I'll make sure to add Seattle to my list of places to visit." She promised, turning to head back in the opposite direction. Max just stood there, watching Brin freeze after walking a few paces. She spun to face Max and Zack. 

"Max...I'm sorry. For Tinga, for being so hard on you, for listening to that bitch Renfro...everything." She apologized remorsefully.

"It wasn't your fault Brin." I reassured her, giving her a quick hug. "And you _better_ come visit me in Seattle, I'll come hunt you down myself big sister. Don't be a stranger." 

"I won't." She responded, smiling. The expression was unfamiliar to her, and it looked strained. She wasn't used to smiling; the thought saddened me. Brin waved as she began to jog away from us. Looking at Zack, he was grinning back at me. 

"Zack..." I began seriously.

"Max." Zack encouraged. I guess now my _superior_ CO was allowing me to speak. How could someone I loved so much be so _annoying_ at times. 

"I don't really know what to say...or where to begin."

"Why don't you try the beginning?" He suggested teasingly. I didn't know whether to admit that I loved him, or punch him as hard as I could in the gut. The former seemed more appropriate, but that doesn't mean I couldn't consider the latter. I'm supposed to be the sarcastic one.

"This is _serious_ Zack. I thought you were _dead_, and...I realized how I really felt about you. Logan isn't the one I love, I thought I did, but could never compare to you. Everything he lacks, you have, everything he can't relate to, you do.... What I'm trying to say is...Zack...I love you." I confessed, watching him process what I was saying. He just stood there, looking me in the eye, searching as if he was trying to find out if I was telling him the truth. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at his shoes nervously. I'd never seen Zack nervous before. He wasn't used to hearing such emotion and 'phony sentimentality.' "_Zack_!"

"Sorry...it's just...you have _no_ idea how long I've been waiting for you to say those words. You mean more to me that anyone else every could, you make me feel like a person, not just a number. I love you too Maxie, I've loved you since we were kids." He breathed, holding the back of my head with his rough hand, running his fingers through my hair.

After what seemed like hours of just reveling in the moment, and watching one another in awe, Zack bent down and kissed me. Up until now, I never understood how a person could give themselves completely to another. As I wrapped my hands around his neck and up and down his strong arms....nothing had ever felt so right. 

  
  


A/N: Hooray! They're together (yeah, I already know I'm a typical blond). Ok, I wrote this in under half an hour, while on a major sugar high from eating 5 boxes of nerds after an especially brutal weight training session (6-7:30 in the morning, ouch), so if it sucks I'll make up for it next chapter; honest. I was half asleep when I wrote it, and could barely move my arms. It wasn't all that realistic, but hey, I said _maybe_ I'd make it more realistic. Too happy I guess, maybe someone should die (Logan). I kinda forgot to add in the other X5s that stayed behind/got captured the night of the escape at Manticore...but just act like they all died...or something. I'm going to slow down on posting chapter since my wrist hurts like a bitch. Maybe I should probably pay more attention to details and making it...good too. I'm thinking about how to tie in the whole Logan/Deck/Krit/Syl situation in. Again, thanks for all your support+advice and keep reviewing, you can always email me 2 ([GCPunkerGirlE87@hotmail.com)][1]

   [1]: mailto:(GCPunkerGirlE87@hotmail.com)



	4. Phone Call

Escape and Evade

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except this story that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other DA people.  
Summary: What I hope will happen during season 2. Max will escape sometime in later chapters (that is, if all of you don't think it's horrible) with help from Zack who (obviously) isn't dead. It'll eventually become a m/z story, so if you don't like it screw you, don't read it, and I mean that in the nicest possible way; really I do.   
Spoilers: just to be safe, every episode to date (AJBAC), I'll probably bring up a lot of past episodes.  
Rating: PG-13 (this chapter) language and eventually some m/z encounter(s) *wink, wink* but if you watch the show it's not _that_ big of a deal.

A/N: Ok, this one took a little longer. I had no clue how to start it, but since I took longer, it probably makes a little more since (probably). Wrist pain is gone, so I can actually _type_ now. Oh, and I 4get who wrote the review, but I'm not going to make Max ditch Logan (or kill him), so don't worry. I won't be _too_ hard on him (next chapter she'll probably see him..._probably_). Thanks for the support, hope this isn't too bad.

  
  


Zack broke the kiss, and grinning, he lead the way through the woods. We stopped to rest only when Zack was tired. I didn't need sleep, and he wouldn't admit he was getting rundown, so I'd have to ask to stop whenever he looked like he was going to collapse. We didn't talk much while walking, he'd just wake up at the crack of dawn, and gesture for me to follow him. 

Walking from dawn to dusk and narrowly escaping suspicious sector police was not something I enjoyed, and I made that clear to Zack. He'd just grunt in response, and keep moving. That was Zack for you, I guess I really didn't expect him to have some drastic change just because I told him how I felt. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't have it any other way.

On the third or fourth night of our journey, I noticed that several cars began speeding up and down the road. We were probably getting closer to an actual town. It'd been a _long_ walk, and finally some small, rundown houses came into view. Ah, just like back home. Graffiti decorated walls and the sides of buildings, and druggies littered alleys we passed by. Charming place.

"We can stay here." Zack stated, jerking his head toward a really dumpy looking hotel. Oh, he spoils me, he really does. He sure knew how to pick the _classiest_ hotels. We walked into the lobby and some old hag with stringy gray hair, huge, thick glasses, and a lot of missing teeth sat behind the front desk. She was reading a newspaper, and we had to ring the bell about five times until she actually noticed we were there. Zack frowned at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Looked like I'd have to take care of this one before Zack started screaming at her.

"Do you have any vacancies?" I asked sweetly, although I probably didn't have to worry about her being suspicious. She probably wouldn't even remember who we were when we checked out...or she'd have died of old age by then. 

"One." She replied, lifting her beady brown eyes from the newspaper to meet mine. I waited for her to continue, but she just stared past us. Ok....we weren't getting anywhere here.

"And..." Zack interrupted impatiently.

"A twin bed, bathroom, couch, closet...nothing special." She returned absentmindedly. 

"We'll take it." I volunteered, and she pointed at a key to her right, which had the room number engraved on them. I heard Zack sigh loudly in exasperation as he grabbed the keys quickly, and walked to the room. He unlocked the door, and swung open the door. It wasn't _that_ bad considering the neighborhood we were in, kind of like a much smaller version of my place, minus Original Cindy and my Ninja. Zack sat on the small couch in the corner of the room, and it sagged under his weight. 

"Go ahead." He said, jerking his head toward the shower that I was eyeing with obvious desire. I nodded, and took about an hour long shower. As I opened the bathroom door, and walked out in a towel, I smiled dreamily at Zack. He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Despite his annoyance at my lengthy shower, I watched his eyes venture up and down my body. I ignored him and hung my drying clothes partway out the window, and sat on the corner of the bed, not wanting to sleep, but not knowing what else to do. Zack mumbled something about taking a shower, and closed the bathroom door. _You have to call him sometime Max. He thinks you're dead._

I pulled on my wet clothes, and scaled the fire escape down to the payphone on the side of the building. Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone and punched in Logan's cell number. I drummed my fingers nervously against the outside of the phone booth as I waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" A voice answered. Not Logan, it sounded kind of like...

"Krit?"

"Max? Where are you, I thought you were-"

"I'm fine, did you guys make it out ok?"

"Yeah...we're on our way back to Seattle....but how...what happened? You were dead...."

"Transplant...they gave me Tinga's heart. Zack and I escaped, and we're staying at a hotel. We broke out, killed Renfro, freed the X7s and we've been moving through forests for at least the past three or four days. Listen, I need to talk to Logan, is he around?"

"Yeah, hold on." Krit said, and I heard him set down the phone and yell to Logan. 

"Max?" Logan breathed.

"Hey...we need to talk..."

"I know...Max, you were _dead_, how in the world...."

"We can talk about that later, I have Tinga's heart, I'm in God only knows where with Zack, probably in North Western Wyoming, and I'm fine. First of all, where are the four of you?"

"In Northern Idaho, on our way to Seattle...and it's us _three_. Liedecker's gone." He replied slowly.

"What happened?"

"Krit and Syl happened. They killed him as soon as we started driving off from Manticore; he was useless to us, and you know how they felt about him...how all of you felt about him. I didn't see it, I was unconscious at the time, but when I came to only Krit and Syl were in the van, and Deck was gone. Krit explained that they'd tossed his body into a lake while I was still knocked out. I guess he deserved it; putting all those kids through hell and back....Max...I don't know what to say. I mean, I thought you were dead....I missed you..."

"I know the feeling," I replied softly, thinking of Zack, "Renfro told me Zack killed himself to give me his heart, but he got shot and passed out before he could pull the trigger and commit suicide. All those days when my stitches were healing...all I could think about was Zack...."

"What are you trying to say Max..." Logan questioned warily, his voice wavering slightly.

"Logan...I'm in love with Zack." I blurted out. I couldn't help it, he was making this so much harder than I ever thought it would be, I just wanted to let it out so I wouldn't have to deal with it later. 

"What about us? Everything we ever had was just a mistake?" He pressed heatedly. 

"I never realized my feelings toward Zack until now. I don't think everything that we had was a mistake, I thought I loved you. I'm sorry Logan."

"Me too." He agreed curtly, and he hung up. I just stood there, listening to the dial tone, until I finally snapped out of it, and hung up the phone. He was just angry...he'd cool down. It's not like he was going to just accept it and congratulate us. I decided I'd call back in a few days. 

Just as I started to turn toward the fire escape and climb back up, a hand grabbed me roughly by the arm. I swung at the assailant, but he grabbed my wrist. My back was to the man's chest, and I flipped around quickly to study the attacker. It was Zack. I sighed with relief, and stopped struggling.

"What do you think you're doing?" He growled.

"Making a phone call. You'd be amazed at the technology these days! You can pick up the receiver, dial a number, and talk with anyone you want; maybe you should try it sometime!" I retorted sarcastically. 

"It's dangerous Max. We're still in Wyoming, hover drones are all over the place, and....I was worried about you." He added so quietly I could barely hear him.

"You-_you_ were worried about me? Mr. Phony Sentimentality, vigilant and brave CO of the X5s, was _worried_ about me taking care of myself?" I laughed incredulously.

"I got out of the shower, you weren't there, your clothes were gone, the window was hanging open...I thought you left..." He trailed off uncomfortably.

"Why would I leave you Zack? I could never leave you....come on, let's just get back to the room," I suggested, "....race you!" 

I watched him chase me up the fire escape, leaping from one to the other, barely even using the ladders. His blond hair flew behind him as he soared past me, grinning triumphantly. He was already in the room by the time I climbed into the window. He was lying on the bed, one hand tucked behind his head, the other looking at his watch as if he'd been waiting hours for me.

"I let you win." I told him, sitting beside him. 

"You need to brush up on your training Maxie, you're slipping." He snickered, watching me stare at him, eyebrows raised, and arms crossed. I was always faster than him, he must've been training hard before he came to tell me about Tinga.

"Screw the training, we aren't soldiers anymore Zack." I pointed out, frowning at him.

"Just because Manticore's gone doesn't mean we get to slack off and get lazy. There are other people who'd love to get their hands on a couple genetically enhanced super-soldiers out there. You of all people should know that after those run-ins with the reds." 

"I'd work harder if you'd give me a little _personal_ training." I tried, grinning at his raised eyebrows. 

"I think I could handle that." Zack agreed, sliding a hand around my neck, and pulling me down for another kiss.

  
  


A/N: Ok, I'll admit it. I love torturing all of you. Actually, I'm just contemplating where to go from here, so I stopped. Anyway, sorry this took so long, I could've gotten it up the next day, but I'm sick :( I kinda have an idea what's going to happen in the next chapter (key word being _kinda_), so it should be up a little sooner than this 1 was, hopefully. I fixed up the first 3 chapters, so they make more sense (that's always a good thing). See, I _told_ you I wouldn't be mean to Logan, he's _sad_, but he'll get over it. I killed off Deck cause I think he's gonna turn on them later next season, I mean, Logan had to point a gun at Deck's head to get him to blow up the DNA lab. I guess that makes sense though, that was his 'lifelong dream' and whatnot. I like him and everything, but I didn't want to have to deal with him being in the story later on. Ok, I'll stop rambling and start typing. Review, review, review!


	5. Heat

Escape and Evade

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other annoying people who think they can kill Zack off.   
Rating: R (language and eventually some m/z encounters *wink, wink* but if you watch the show it's not _that_ big of a deal)

A/N: Sorry this took a while, I've been busy hanging out with William Gregory Lee (or maybe that was a dream...). Anyway, I'm kinda just making this up as I go along so bear with me...

  
  


My eyes snapped open the next morning, not fully remembering where I was, or who's arms and legs were intertwined with my own. Slowly, last night's events came back to me as I looked around the hotel room. Clothes had been thrown around haphazardly, and Zack's shirt was hanging from the lampshade. I sighed and closed my eyes. If I hadn't known better, I would've sworn I'd been up all night battling about twenty reds. 

I carefully slipped out of Zack's arms, and tentatively stood beside the bed, testing my stability. I silently cursed Zack as pain surged up my leg. Hobbling over to the bathroom, I eyed several bite marks near my neck and sighed loudly. I kicked the bathroom door closed and took another ludicrously long shower; the lukewarm water easing the pain in my aching body. All this and I wasn't even in heat...

Walking out of the bathroom in a ridiculously small towel, I slid on my clothes. I cringed at the black uniform, and briefly considered getting some clothes, before realizing we had no money. Paying for the hotel wouldn't be a problem; thank God for fire escapes. Zack was still asleep, and I sat beside him on the edge of the bed, running my hand through his tousled hair. He'd want to get moving, but I felt bad about waking him. It wasn't common to see Zack looking so peaceful. He looked like a normal guy, that had a normal childhood. _If he was a normal guy, you wouldn't be in love with him. Wake him up already._

"Zack..." I murmured near his ear. He grunted, and his eyes opened abruptly. He shot up to a sitting position sharply, his head narrowly avoiding my chin as he rose. When he saw me, he visibly relaxed and collapsed back onto the bed with a loud groan.

"Morning Maxie..." He greeted me, examining some scratch marks on his chest. His eyes widened in realization, and he turned to exchange a mischievous grin with me. "So it wasn't a dream..."

"Nope." I snickered, watching a rare smile cross his face. He was gradually getting used to showing more emotions. All of the sudden his forehead wrinkled in suspicion, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Are you in heat?" He demanded worriedly. 

"Ok, didn't I tell you I loved you for the first time a few days ago? I could've _sworn_ you were there too..." I laughed.

"Right...this just seems so crazy. I've been waiting for this, and now that it's happening...it's going to take some getting used to I guess." He explained, smile having returned. 

An hour or so later, Zack and I were moving down the fire escapes again. We had no trouble sneaking out of the hotel, and moving our way to its parking lot. I watched for onlookers as Zack hot-wired a black pickup truck. Moments later, we were driving down some highway, talking casually. It was nice not having to talk about whatever mission we were on, or bickering about one thing or another. 

"Zack...where exactly are we going?" I asked curiously.

"Seattle." He returned, eyes still locked on the road.

"You're letting me go back?" I questioned surprisedly.

"We need to see him." He stated reluctantly. He wouldn't admit needing someone's help unless he really found it necessary. Male pride was not my area of expertise, but I'd spent enough time with Zack to know he had quite an ego. I figured he was talking about Logan, by his cold tone. 

"Logan?"

"You told me Krit and Syl are still with him...we need to find out what the situation is. I take it that Logan wouldn't want to carry on a telephone conversation with either of us right now, so we're going to have to drop by. We might have to relocate Krit and Syl too, we have no idea what they're still doing with him. Besides, you need to get money, clothes, your motorcycle...and anything else you need." He explained.

"What for?" I demanded, prepared to fight him on relocation. _There's no way he's going to make me leave all my friends, and just ditch me._

"You're coming with me. We still need to check in on the others, make sure there aren't any emergencies we need to take care of....I'm not leaving you with Logan, and I'm not going to be alone again." He said firmly, but his hard expression softened as he glanced over at me to see my reaction.

"You know Original Cindy's going to kill you right?" I informed him. He smiled slightly at my indirect acceptance of his offer. 

"I think I can take her out." 

"Yeah, but you might get bitch-slapped a couple of times in the process." I laughed. He chuckled briefly and turned back to the road. "So how long will it take to get back to Seattle?" I asked after a while of driving in comfortable silence. 

"A couple days, probably around three. Personally, I'm not in that big of a big of a hurry." He answered, and grabbed my hand.

After hours of driving in the darkness, Zack pulled off the highway, and found a hotel. It actually didn't look too bad; well, compared to the last one at least. As he parked the car, I suddenly felt my face flush. While walking through the lot to the lobby, I slid off the heavy black jacket of my uniform. It had suddenly gotten so _hot_. I groaned in realization as I saw Zack shivering slightly. 

I knew I was in heat, and I began to stare at Zack in anticipation. Licking my lips, I watched his muscles flex as he opened the door to the lobby for me. His eyes met mine in slight confusion. That's when the heat completely overtook me, and I slammed Zack against the front desk. I bit his lip roughly as I ripped the front of his shirt open. As I began to attack his chest and unbutton his pants, Zack grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me back. He was breathing heavily and swallowing hard. 

"Can I help you?" I completely bewildered man asked. She had been sitting at the desk, observing the spectacle in shock. 

"Sure." I purred, and Zack had to wrap his arm tightly around my waist to stop me from pouncing on the guy.

"A room." Zack said meekly, as one of my wandered hands ran its nails lightly across his back. "Hurry the fuck up!" He growled. The man hadn't even moved. "Do you _want_ me to snap your fucking neck?" Zack demanded as I attempted to unzip his fly.

The man suddenly snapped out of his stupor and tossed Zack the keys, rambling off the room number. I grabbed Zack's wrist and practically carried him through the halls as I ran to the room. He unlocked the door and pushed it closed with his shoulder and I threw him to the bed....

  
  


A/N: Well anyway, I'm stopping here cause this is already like three pages long, and that's when I normally stop. I actually know some of the things I'm going to put in the next chapter; roughly anyway. I had to make Max go into heat, I know it has been overdone, but I couldn't help it. I think there's probably going to be 2-3 chapters left since I have no idea how I'm going to end this. For the first time, I'm actually going to start typing up the next chapter _now_, instead of a few hours before I post it. You know how it goes, I write when you review. Sorry if some of the chapters after this aren't up as soon, I have to babysit all day and I'll only be home @ night. L8r. [GCPunkerGirlE87@hotmail.com][1]

   [1]: mailto:GCPunkerGirlE87@hotmail.com



	6. Returning to Seattle

**Escape and Evade**

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other annoying people who think they can kill Zack off.   
Rating: R (language)

A/N: I'm typing this at exactly 1:06 a.m. cause I can't sleep. This is after babysitting the children from hell earlier, forgive me. Thanx 4 the reviews, they're what keep me up in the middle of the night writing new chapters.

  
  
  
  


"Shit Max, you dislocated my shoulder, and I think my arm might be broken ..." Zack groaned. I winced as he popped his right shoulder back into place. We'd been up for awhile, just staring at the ceiling, and identifying broken, sprained, and injured body parts. The whole hotel room had been trashed, nothing left unbroken. Half of what had happened the previous night had been a blur, and the half that I _did_ remember....I grinned to myself, and turned to Zack. I was still slightly 'suffering' from the heat, but the worst had been dulled with Zack's help.

"That's too bad, cause I'm still in heat...maybe that guy at the front desk would be interested...." I trailed, and before I could even shoot a sarcastic look toward him, he was at my side. 

**A few hours later...**

"You think we can make it to Seattle by tonight?" I asked Zack, who was speeding across the highway; at least twenty miles per hour over the speed limit in yet another stolen car. We'd made a hasty escape from the hotel. As we were making our way down fire escapes, a woman happened to be gazing out her window. She nearly had a heart attack watching us soar past her, down to ground. 

"If you drive," He responded, "not all of us can sleep two hours, and stay up all night after handling _your_ heat." 

I snickered at his serious tone. "_Handling_ my heat? You make it sound like a _chore_. Take care of the others, handle Max's heat, complete the mission at hand..." I scoffed. He rolled his eyes, but I saw him smirk slightly. 

After nightfall, Zack and I had traded places, and I was driving into the darkness. _Almost there_, I thought, as I haphazardly floored it through another checkpoint. Zack _always_ insisted on stopping and showing the sector police our fake papers. I, however, preferred getting us the hell out of whatever city we were in, and into Seattle. Reckless my ass, I just prefer to get this bitch over with so I can see Krit and Syl again. 

_There it is, the Space Needle..._ It was around 3:00 in the morning, and Zack was awake and alert. He refused to sleep any longer knowing that he had to take care of the 'mission'. Personally, I thought of finding out the dealio on Krit and Syl was more like an attempt at a short-lived family reunion. 

The sudden realization of seeing Logan abruptly sunk in as I parked in the lot behind his place. I kept opening and closing my fists nervously as Zack and I took the elevator to Logan's floor, after much debating on Zack's part about taking the window. I figured if we _were_ going to just drop in on Logan, we should at least have the decency of not doing it _literally_. _How mad could he be? I called him a couple days ago, he's probably cooled down. _

I just kept telling myself that as I did the honor of picking Logan's lock. Pushing open the door, I listened for any sounds indicating Logan or the others were around. I heard computer keys, and slunk into his computer room. A lump formed in my throat as I realized only Logan was there. He shuddered, noticing our presence, and snapped his head around to meet my eyes.

"Hey..." I said, trying to push away the awkwardness that filled the room. He didn't want to see me, and I'd really come here to get my stuff, and help out my brother and sister. Our future friendship was pretty much up to Logan, and he didn't seem too interested.

"Hey Max." He murmured, eyes back on the computer screen.

Zack strode further into the room, standing close enough to Logan to intimidate him. "Where are Krit and Syl?" He demanded.

"They're at Sebastian's helping me out on some Eye's Only info. Syl insisted that they should stay here; said she knew you'd come back to Seattle...so, I put them to work." He replied, meeting Zack's eyes coldly. 

"Who the hell is Sebastian? Does he know about us?" Zack pressed on.

"Sebastian is a friend of mine, he's helped out on Eye's situations before. And yeah...he knows about you." Logan answered slowly, eyes still locked on Zack's.

"So now you're just telling all your 'friends' about us? Since when have you-?" Zack started.

I interrupted, "Zack!" He turned to face me curiously, and I shot him a look that clearly said, '_Shut_ up!' He narrowed his eyes and frowned, but did stop grilling Logan. "I know where to find him, let's go." I urged. Logan glanced at me, and added, "Sorry...gotta blaze." 

Zack made sure to wrap his arm around me before walking out the door. I'm sure it was more for Logan's sake than it was mine. After getting back to the car, I got us to Sebastian's. Zack barged through the door. It was apparent that, in his opinion, a friend of Logan's was an enemy of his. True to Logan's word, Krit and Syl were both standing beside Sebastian. Syl's gun was drawn, and aimed toward us. Krit was hunched over the computer screen, reading some information as Sebastian explained something to him.

"Max!" Syl cried, lowering her pistol, and walking over to me. After greeting the two, Zack cut in with the plans for 'operation relocation.'

"How cute, it even rhymes." I retorted, less than ecstatic with his putting a damper on our first real chance to talk with our 'siblings'. The first time we'd been reunited wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, after all. 

Zack frowned at me, and I shut up for his sake. "Ok, you're going to get out of Seattle ASAP, and relocate. Krit, your previous location was secure, so you're to return there. Syl, you've been in the same place for over a year, so you're going to settle in Southern California. Is the mission clear?" He asked.

"Zack...Manticore is _gone_, I'm not about to leave a place that I've actually become used to. I have friends, a job, a nice place...how can I just pick up and leave? As long as we're not all settled in the same place, we should be fine." She pointed out.

"Are you questioning my orders soldier?" He growled, then paused. Contemplating the situation, he reluctantly gave in, "Fine, but if an X7 settles in your area, you are to move, no questions asked. Understood?"

Syl answered him with a curt nod, and Krit broke in, "When are we leaving?" 

"Now." He replied, looking from Syl to Krit. They said nothing, but Krit told Sebastian to call Logan and fill him in on the info they'd come up with. I wanted to punch Zack in the face right about then, but I shoved my hands into my pockets instead. We watched Krit and Syl head off in opposite directions after saying goodbye to me, and shooting Zack dirty looks. 

"You couldn't wait until tomorrow?" I sighed.

"It had to be taken care of." He answered simply. 

"You know, I'm serious about the whole 'X5 reunion' thing. You can't keep us all apart forever." 

"I can try. Anyway, I'm already risking a lot on taking you with me. I'm already having nightmares about the day when you meet up with Jondy or Zane..." He groaned. 

"Have they changed much?" I asked curiously, grinning at some flashbacks of Manticore. I'd always remember those nights after showers where we'd sneak around to each other's beds and just talk; almost like normal kids. Jondy and I would stay up all night, just staring out of one of the small windows, and imagining what it would be like to be free. We knew the good place wasn't inside the walls of Manticore. Zane would sometimes attempt to stay up with us when we'd just sit on one of our bunks talking. He never lasted long.... "What?" I questioned Zack, missing his reply.

"I said, a little. Jondy's almost as rebellious as you are, and Zane's still gotta screw loose." He returned, grinning slightly. 

"Where are we going first?" I implored excitedly.

"Probably Jondy's, she's not too far. Syl and Krit are the closest to Seattle, but we know their status. Before we do anything though, you need to get your stuff, and I need to check the contact number." 

"Can we meet back here in two hours? I need to tell Cindy what the hell happened, and say goodbye to everyone else....and I should probably see Logan."

  
  


A/N: Ok, I fell asleep halfway through typing this, it's like 4 something now. You see what you people do to me? I have to be at weight training in _two_ hours! Actually, by the time this is posted, it'll be like 5:00 tonight. Ok...review, and I'm going to do something really crazy, like try and sleep. I'll try to get chapter 7 up on Friday if I have time. 


	7. Saying Goodbye

Escape and Evade

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except this story, that I'll probably deny I wrote later on. Everything belongs to Charles Eglee, James Cameron, and all those other annoying people who think they can kill Zack off.   
Rating: PG-13 

A/N: Sorry this wasn't up sooner, I had it typed up and everything, I just got in trouble (no computer, TV, stereo, and anything I actually _like_) so I couldn't post. I'm still not really supposed to be on right now....anyway, I had to think up weird names for some of the X7s...I'm not sure if that'll come up in this chapter or the next 1.

  
  


Ch 6: "Where are we going first?" I implored excitedly.

"Probably Jondy's, she's not too far. Syl and Krit are the closest to Seattle, but we know their status. Before we do anything though, you need to get your stuff, and I need to check the contact number." 

"Can we meet back here in two hours? I need to tell Cindy what the hell happened, and say goodbye to everyone else....and I should probably see Logan."

  
  


Ch 7: "Fine, but two hours Max. I'm not going to come track you down." He grunted. _I can't believe he's honestly still jealous of Logan after all that has happened. _His arms were folded across his chest challengingly. 

"Yes, sir!" I replied, sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at him, and saw him frown in annoyance. He led me outside of Sebastian's, and I glared at him, awaiting what was probably more orders. 

Letting out a long sigh, he unfolded his arms, wrapping them around my waist. His lips inches away from my lips, he murmured, "Sorry....and I'm sorry that Krit and Syl couldn't stay longer."

I let a huge grin make its way across my face, and had a sarcastic remark at the ready. He silenced any reply I might've had with a short, soft kiss. Zack gave me a quick smile, and I headed back to hot-wire another car. The last thing I wanted to do was walk back to my place. _I wonder if some of the X7s have relocated..._

After stopping by my empty apartment (_Cindy must be at work_), I sped off to Logan's on my Ninja. I figured I'd leave the truck I'd hot-wired in front of my place, so I could throw all my stuff in it later. I found myself reminiscing over everything that had happened so suddenly in my life. Basically, I was free from Manticore, Zack and I were together, and the X7s were freed. Of course, Logan was hurt, there was a chance something could go wrong with the Manticore situation, the X7s might blow their cover or turn out like Ben, and I had to face Original Cindy's berating for not calling. _There's always something_ _that sucks when everything seems to be going perfectly_.

I found that I was already picking Logan's lock. _Now how the hell did I get here?_ I cleared my head, and swung the door open loudly. Logan would know I was there. I stepped into the computer room, and he was already facing the doorway.

"Listen...can we talk?" I asked. He ran a hand through his spiky hair nervously, and nodded slightly. 

"I guess, but I don't think there's anything to talk about." He pointed out. I stood leaning in the doorway, and moved to rest on the table where the computer was. I was sitting a few feet away from him, staring into his crystal blue eyes, pleading with him to forgive me. We still had _something_, it just wasn't the something he wanted us to share. 

"Logan..." I sighed, "we _did_ have something. I don't want to lose our friendship because of my relationship with Zack."

"You don't understand Max. You're the only person I've really connected with since.... Max, I loved you...love you, and you just ditched me for your brother."

"My _brother_? You know as well as I do that he's not even related to me. If you really do love me, then you'll let me do what I think is best, and respect my decisions. I _decided_ to be with Zack, and I knew you'd be angry and hurt, what I _didn't_ expect was _this_. You're wallowing in self-pity, and shutting me out just because I found someone I could really love." I shot angrily.

"Dammit, Max! How the hell can I just be friends with you after all this? I thought you _died_, and then without warning, you just call me up, tell me you're alive, and that you're with Zack! Everything that happened before you left to save Tinga...I thought it wasn't _completely_ one-sided." He took his glasses off, and rubbed his eyes wearily. 

"It was attraction, that was all. I thought I wanted normalcy, but even _you_ said that I'm never going to be a regular anything. As much as I tried to ignore it, I'm still Manticore. It was my past, and as horrible as it was, I can't deny the relationships all of us had as kids....especially with Zack." I explained. _Come on Logan, just understand._

"Just give me some time...?" He pleaded.

"It's not that simple...I'm leaving."

"Why? Where?"

"I'm going with Zack...." I told him, biting my lower lip, bracing myself for his response.

"Figures. Later Max, take care of yourself." He muttered bitterly, turning back toward the computer. 

"Yeah, you too..." I replied softly, and trudged out of his apartment, defeated. Not realizing where I was walking, I ran into someone. "Sorry." I said absently.

"Hey Max." Bling greeted cheerfully. I looked up at the man I'd run into, and grinned back at him.

"Hey...I'm leaving with Zack to see the others....Logan isn't too chill with it, so be forewarned." 

His expression became worried, "He hasn't been doing all that great since he heard from you. Not eating much, stressed out with Eye's Only work, and he barely sleeps anymore."

I told him surprisedly, "I didn't think it was that bad....and Bling, there's something I gotta tell you. When Logan was visiting that doctor after my transfusion...he was going to kill himself. The only thing that stopped him was when he saw that leak in his roof and went up to check it out... I saw his records at that the doctor had, and it said he was depressed, and all this other stuff...I got back over here as fast as I could, and I saw his gun set out...." I trailed.

"Right...I'll make sure to hang around more often." He responded, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Aiight, thanks Bling. Gotta bounce, and even though Logan may not want me to, I'll make sure to visit every now and then." I offered, and hugged him goodbye.

"See ya Max." He waved, walking into Logan's as I stepped into the elevator. _Ok, that's two down...now just Original Cindy, and the rest of my crew._

I hopped on my motorcycle, and realized I only had an hour left. I made my way to Jam Pony, and slipped past Normal. Everyone was doing everything _but_ working, as usual. I stood beside Sketchy, Herbal, and Cindy, waiting to be noticed. Cindy suddenly saw that I was standing there, arms folded, and my eyebrows raised.

"Max! Boo, where have you been? Original Cindy went over to your squeeze's house, and he told me you were _dead_. _That_ was three weeks ago. Then he told me you got some heart transplant, and you and your brother were at some _hotel_. So break it down for Original Cindy before I put the smack down on your ass!" OC threatened, pulling me away from the others to an abandoned row of lockers. Her hand was raised in front of me, and I tried my best to suppress a huge grin.

I filled her in on the whole situation; everything that had happened since I died. She was basically in shock when I finished. Then she started in on my being with Zack. Cindy didn't exactly _approve_ of him ever since the first day he walked into Jam Pony. When I told her I was leaving, she wasn't too enthused, but after swearing I'd visit as much as I _possibly_ could, I left her with a teary-eyed farewell, and hugged everyone goodbye...even a very irritable Normal, who threatened to fire me for not showing up at work. He chastised me for being gone for so long, since he couldn't fire me if I wouldn't _be_ there to fire. 

Back at my place, I packed up everything, and threw it in the truck, after lifting my motorcycle into the back. Hopefully no one had been watching, but I guess it didn't really matter. It'd been an hour and 45 minutes, and Zack was already outside of Sebastian's, leaning against the side of a building. 

"_Well_?" I asked impatiently, wanting info on the X7s.

"X7-599 and X7-734 have both found places to settle, and X7-452 had checked in, and told me her destination. I'll tell you about it on the way to Jondy's." He answered.

"Find, where is she?"

"Relocated to Vegas." He groaned. 

  
  


A/N: Ok, I'll wait until the next chapter to add more info on the X7s. Max will meet Jondy, and Zack will get all annoyed at them after....well, what would _you_ do if you were a genetically-enhanced freak that didn't need to sleep? I think I'm going to have them run off and go crazy for two days straight, and run into Zack :). Ok, I'm going to shut up so I don't give away _everything_. Oh yeah, thanks again for all the reviews, they're always appreciated. Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but it won't be _too_ long.


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